Scott City volleyball hopes tougher schedule pays off

Scott City senior Kristin Yetman considers the final week of September, when the Rams faced three powerhouse volleyball programs, one of the best her team has played all season.

This might be somewhat surprising because the Rams were swept by Bell City, Leopold and Winona, getting outscored 181 to 126.

But Yetman and her teammates enjoyed facing the difficult competition.

"They adjust a lot better than teams we played last year that weren't as tough," Yetman said. "They hit the holes, and they adjust when we hit our holes, and we had to find different ones so it helped us adjust more. That helped us learn our ability as a team. That week helped us see how we can play."

District play in volleyball starts today. The Rams are seeded No. 1 in the Class 2 District 2 tournament at Twin Rivers High School in Broseley, Mo., and will duel the winner of Puxico and Charleston today at 7:30 p.m.

Rams first-year coach Haley Jennings said her team's 16-14 record might not look as pretty as the 24-8-4 record the team finished with in 2006. But she said she wanted a tougher schedule to prepare her team better for the postseason.

Scott City will look to improve on their performance from last year, when they were defeated by Crystal City in the quarterfinals.

The Rams have a much different looking team than last year, too, with the additions of outside/middle hitter Amanda Braun, who sat out last season with a torn ACL, sophomore setter Jordan McFall, sidelined for much of 2006 with three stretched ligaments in her ankle, and Marty Trinchieri, a senior foreign exchange student from Italy.

"We beefed up our schedule a lot," said Jennings, a Rams assistant coach last fall. "Our record may not be where I would like it to be, but we've lost to tough teams and we haven't let a weaker team beat us, I don't think. We are set to play at the next level.

"We could've gone all season playing some weaker teams in the area and had a 20-5 record, but when we get to districts and sectionals that isn't going to help. We like to get into tournaments where we play tough teams and face schools that may be bigger than us because it forces the girls to pick up their intensity level and their play."

A tough Winona team and the Crystal City tournament were added to this season's schedule.

Yetman said playing tougher squads, such as Crystal City, reveals areas where the Rams must improve. She said for the playoffs the Rams will use two blockers on the outside because blocking the outside shot was difficult against the better teams.

"When we played Crystal City at the Crystal City tournament, their outside just pounded it down every time because we only had one blocker out there," Yetman said. "I think with two blockers we are going to be a lot stronger."

Senior Danyelle Pate said her team has avoided overconfidece this year due to the level of competition.

"In past seasons we have played easy teams and we've killed all of them, so it made us realize that not every team is as easy as we thought," she said.

Most of the members of the Scott City roster have been playing with one another for about four year. Seven of the members are seniors.

Still, because of injuries and the addition of Trinchieri and players from last year's junior varsity team, the Rams have had to adjust to playing with one another.

And some players have also had to make their own adjustments, such as Trinchieri who has moved to defense after playing outside hitter in Italy, and Braun, who returned to the court in August after recovering from her second ACL tear in a year.

"Playing tougher competition makes me strive harder to win the game," Braun said. "And it makes me want to work harder to be better. And since I tore my ACL, knowing that we're playing better teams, I have to play even harder to be up to where they're at."

Whether the tough schedule will help them come postseason will be known soon. Members of the Rams believe they already know the answer.

"Our overall winnings don't look as good, but we have had a lot tougher teams on our schedule and our schedule is so much different than last year," Yetman said. "Our winnings don't look as good, but we're a better team because of that."